Dealing with Women’s Urinary Incontinence While Exercising

If you suffer from women’s urinary incontinence, you are probably wary about exercising in public. The embarrassment of a urine leakage accident occurring while you jog on a crowded public trail or ride an exercise bike at the gym can be enough to keep you at home!Unfortunately, avoiding workouts won’t really help your urine leakage problem. In fact, lack of exercise–and the resulting weight gain–can actually worsen your urinary leakage problems. That’s why it is important to deal with your urinary incontinence so that you can work out in a way that is comfortable for you. We have some tips that can empower you to return to the gym without fear of urinary leakage.

Five Ways to Cope with Urinary Incontinence While Exercising
There are many conservative measures you can take to prevent or minimize urinary leakage when you exercise. Here are five ways you can help yourself stay dry while you exercise.

Tip #1: Limit Fluid Intake
While it is important to stay hydrated when you exercise, limiting your fluid intake just before your exercise session can help prevent urine leakage. You are the best judge of how much fluid you need to drink before and during your workout to stay hydrated while preventing leakage accidents. Experiment with different levels of fluid intake until you see some level of improvement in your urinary incontinence symptoms. Normally, women need to drink between four and nine cups of water per day to stay hydrated.

Tip #2: Urinate Just Before Working Out
Emptying your bladder before your workout can go a long way toward preventing leakage accidents. You can go a step further by practicing double voiding. Double voiding means urinating until you feel that your bladder is empty. Then, wait a few seconds, and urinate again. This allows your bladder to empty completely, which can help prevent symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, which is also called overactive bladder.

Tip #3: Use a Tampon or Urethral Insert
Both tampons and urethral inserts increase pressure on the urethra and support the bladder. Both of these actions can help prevent urine leakage during while you exercise, especially if you suffer from stress urinary incontinence.

Tip #4: Use Absorbent Pads or Diapers
While this option seems unattractive for many women, since pads and diapers can be bulky and uncomfortable, you might be surprised at the advances in these products. Trying different absorbent products until you find the one that works for you may allow you to return to an active lifestyle without worrying about that embarrassing “wet panty” look. Check out the different kinds of absorbent products on the market today, and see which ones fit your needs.

Tip #5: Exercise Your Body Inside and Out
Being able to work out at the gym without urine leakage may depend on how regularly you exercise your inner muscles “down there.” Regularly exercising your pelvic floor muscles can keep you toned and fit internally, which prevents urine leakage. For the scoop on pelvic floor muscle contractions (also called Kegels) check out our free informational ebook.

Download the “What’s Up Down There” ebook here.

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